First, remove the skin and any large veins from 1 lb. of liver. You may want to soak the liver in milk overnight to make it more tender and falvorful, but this step is optional. Once you have the liver prepared, you will need:

1 large onion

1/4 cup flour

5 oz. butter, divided

Salt and pepper

Julienne the onions by slicing them into long thin strips. The best way to do this is to cut the ends off the onion, peel the skin off, and then cut it in half lengthwise from top to bottom. Next, place the onion on your cutting board and cut it across the grain into about 1/4 inch slices. If you can get it into 1/8 inch thick slices, all the better.

In a saucepan, melt 1 oz. butter and add the onions. Using a low heat, slowly cook the onions, stirring them occasionally until they caramelize. This means that all the sugars in the onion have been brought to the surface and are turning brown, which can take a few minutes. When caramelizing, the idea is to go low and slow. The more time you take with this step the better. If you prefer, you can swap out oil for the butter.

While the onions are cooking, cut the liver into 1/4 inch slices. You can go as thick as 1/2 inch if you like but it's important is to keep them as close to uniform as possible so they cook in the same amount of time. Remember: overcooking will result in a liver very much like shoe leather, and we want to avoid that.

Once the onions are nice and brown, it is time to cook the liver. Start by coating the liver with some flour. You may want to add some salt and pepper to the flour or you can add the seasonings to the liver while it cooks.

Heat 4 oz. butter in a skillet. Once it is melted, add the liver. Cook the liver for about a minute or two on each side.

Then, put the liver on a plate and smother it with the onions. This can feed up to six people.

The Sides and the Options

When cooking recipes for calves liver and onions, the sides that you can serve it with are endless. Some ideas are Asparagus, Spinach, or Potatoes.

Creative Recipes for Calves Liver and Onion

Recipes for calves liver and onions can get more creative, too. If you prefer, you can prepare the liver as before by removing the skin and veins and slicing it into strips. You will also need:

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 cup of tomato sauce

1/2 cup diced green pepper

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced onions

2 oz. butter

Salt and pepper

Put the tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers, celery, and onions into a pot and bring to a simmer.

Add the butter to a pan and brown the liver quickly, then add it to the sauce and cover. Let it simmer for 30 minutes or until the liver is tender. This is great served over rice.

A Classic Combination

Liver and onions is a classic combination and there are endless variations on the recipes for calves liver and onions. Once you have mastered the basics experiment with some variations.

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